President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian addressed a congratulatory message on the occasion of Army Day, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.
The message runs as follows:
“Dear soldiers, officers and generals,
Dear compatriots,
I congratulate you on the Army Day, wish you peace and new victories.
The Armenian Army was born and formed in the heroic fights of our modern liberation struggle. It restored the glory and reputation of our soldiers had had starting from ancient imperial times up to Sardarapat, to the Second World War where the brave sons of our people, starting from Marshals, Generals to soldiers, wrote their names in the pages of the history of the Great Victory with golden letters.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of that victory, a victory where our ancestors had a great contribution, a victory for which more than 300.000 sons and daughters of our people sacrificed their lives.
I bow before the memory of our ancestors fallen at the Second World War and expressed my gratitude to the veterans who not only keep alive the memory of that victory, but are also a living lesson for us with their life experience and past path.
Today their generations, those who continue their victorious path are standing on our borders.
Today the Armenian Army is the living embodiment of the national unity. It is the firm pillar of our pride and national dignity around which a conscious and patriotic citizen is growing up.
The Army is the relative of each of us, and vice versa.
The Army is our family because each family somehow, directly or indirectly is connected with the Army.
The Army is our pride, one of our powerful weapons.
The Army is our forehead. And thanks to the Army we look at the eyes of our remote and close neighbors, our friends and adversaries with an open forehead, in other words with pride, dignity, free and courageous.
At all times the motto of our volunteer, soldier and officer has been the words Homeland, Honor and Dedication. We achieved our victories with this motto, protected our families, liberated our territories and today protect the security and peace of Armenia and Artsakh with this motto.
In the modern times the Army is also an impetus for the development of economy, science and professional capacities. Modern army means new thinking, new skills, better quality education and science, new technologies, modern industry, including military industry, modern agriculture, food safety, in other words, a new economy.
Definitely, the types of weapons constantly acquired by the state strengthen the military-technical base of our armed forces. But this base cannot be fully firm without a human capital. All our efforts and thoughts should be directed for supplementing this capital psychologically, physically and economically and raising to a qualitatively new level.
Dear compatriots,
Every day the Armenian Army gives us the most precious – the feeling of peace and security.
On this January 28, like all the remaining days, let’s continue praying for our soldiers,
For you, dear soldiers, war volunteers, officers and generals,
For you, dear parents of servicemen,
Let’s think and act for our country, state, people, for our today and tomorrow.
Glory to our Armed Forces,
Long live the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh.
God bless all of us”.
Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
